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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Music that is easy to listen to and understand.






2. A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.






3. A drama where the words are sung instead of spoken.






4. Convenient method of numbering a composer's works where a number follows the word 'opus'.For example - Opus 28 - No. 4.






5. Initially an improvised cadence by a soloist; later becoming an elaborate and written out passage in an aria or concerto - featuring the skills of an instrumentalist or vocalist.






6. A short and simple melody performed by a soloist that is part of a larger piece.






7. A short piano piece - often improvisational and intimate in character.






8. The interval between two notes. Two whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.






9. A musical style characterized as excessive - ornamental - and trivial.






10. A period in history dating from the 14th to 16th centuries. This period signified the rebirth of music - art - and literature.






11. A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.






12. A string of chords played in succession.






13. One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark - melancholic mood.






14. To repeat a previous part of a composition generally after other music has been played.






15. A 17th century dance written in Quadruple time - always beginning on the third beat of the measure.






16. 3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.






17. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played smoothly.






18. The performance of either all instruments of an orchestra or voices in a chorus.






19. Three to four movement orchestral piece - generally in sonata form.






20. One or more vocalists performing without an accompaniment.






21. A chord progression that seems to lead to resolving itself on the final chord; but does not.






22. One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark - melancholic mood.






23. The principal note of a triad.






24. Either of the two octave arrangements in modern music. The modes are either major or minor.






25. A musical composition that has a romantic or dreamy character with nocturnal associations.






26. A person with notable technical skill in the performance of music.






27. A symbol in sheet music that returns a note to its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished.






28. A reprise.






29. String instruments that are picked instead of bowed.






30. A mild glissando between two notes for an expressive effect.






31. An extended solo - often accompanying the vocal part of an aria.






32. A song of praise and glorification. Most often to honor God.






33. A composition written for eight instruments.






34. Two or three melodic lines played at the same time.






35. A set of seven musicians who perform a composition written for seven parts.






36. Music composed such that each note is used the same number of times.






37. Dull - monotonous tone such as a humming or buzzing sound. Also a bass note held under a melody.






38. Harsh - discordant - and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.






39. A symbol in sheet music that returns a note to its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished.






40. Music written to be sung or played in unison.






41. Time in music history ranging from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries. Characterized by emotional - flowery music; written in strict form.






42. A loose collection of instrumental compositions.






43. Singing in unison - texts in a free rhythm. Similar to the rhythm of speech.






44. A dirge - hymn - or musical service for the repose of the dead.






45. A successive transposition and repetition of a phrase at different pitches.






46. The retuning of a stringed instrument in order to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual tone color.






47. Sliding between two notes.






48. A tempo having slow movement; restful at ease.






49. The expression the performer brings when playing his instrument.






50. Music written for chorus and orchestra. Most often religious in nature.